For all of you worried about robots stealing your job, watch out, because it looks like they are getting better at us at sports too.
A robot hit a hole-in-one after only its fifth attempt last week. You heard that right — five attempts later and it did better than most do in a lifetime!
And the best part? That hole-in-one is the same shot Tiger Woods got in 1997. It occurred on the 16th hole of Arizona's TPC Scottsdale course.
The robot was developed by Gene Parente, who runs Golf Laboratories — a lab that uses robots to test golf clubs and balls since they can't get tired. The robot seen last week is named LDRIC, which stands for Launch Directional Robot Intelligent Circuitry, but perhaps more importantly is pronounced "Eldrick" (Like Tiger's first name).
In addition to showing up Tiger Woods, LDRIC can also duplicate anyone's swing to up to 130 miles per hour. The robot is so good, Parente thinks it could beat the best player in the PGA tour, he said in a video showing off LDRIC.
In the video, Parente notes that he has built 40 robots that conduct testing for the laboratory, but none like LDRIC.
So why build LDRIC? Parente said in the video it's not only that people are interested in robots, but golf is such a difficult game that it's interesting to see a machine that can play it well.
But perhaps the best reason why: "It's just cool," Parenti said.
We agree.
